Tinubu, Shettima object to Obi’s votes in 630 Polling Units in Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Two Others

The Nation Newspaper

President-Elect Bola Tinubu and Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima are contesting the votes declared for the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in 630 polling units in Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Enugu and Imo states.

Their objection to the votes is premised on alleged irregularities recorded in the affected polling units.

“An aggregation of the votes in the said polling units will result in 78,200 votes for the petitioners (Obi and LP) and 5,286 for the 2nd respondent (Tinubu),” the respondents claim in their joint-response to the petition filed by Obi and the LP before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).

According to them, “upon a deduction of the said votes from the votes of the petitioners and the 2nd respondent, respectively, from their respectively declared 6,101,533 and 8,794,726 votes, the petitioners will be left with 6,023, 333 votes, while the 2™ respondent will maintain a total of 8,789,440 votes.”

They also faulted the claim by Obi and his party that the Vice President-elect was not qualified to stand election on grounds of alleged double nomination.

The duo argued that instead, it is Obi who was not qualified to contest the election, having not been a registered member of the LP at the time of the election on February 25.

They argued that contrary to claims by Obi and his party, Shettima had already withdrawn his candidature for that Borno Central Senatorial District and ceased to be the nominated senatorial candidate of the APC before becoming the vice presidential candidate of the party.

They added that by a notice of voluntary withdrawal, dated 6th July, 2022, addressed to the National Chairman of the APC and executed before a Notary Public, Emoedume I. Brai, Esq. on the same day, Shettima notified the APC of the voluntary withdrawal of his candidacy for the Borno Central Senatorial District election scheduled to hold on 25th February, 2023.

Tinubu and Shettima stated that following the Vice President-elect’s voluntary withdrawal of his candidacy from the senatorial election, the APC conducted a fresh primary election, which produced Barr. Kaka-Shehu Lawan as the candidate who went on to contest the senatorial election on the platform of the APC.

“The primary election that returned the said Barr. Kaka-Shehu Lawan was duly monitored by the 1st respondent (Lawan), who at the time had notice and was duly aware of the withdrawal of the 3rd respondent (Shettima) as candidate of the 4th respondent from the senatorial contest, which said withdrawal was the sole reason for the fresh primary election.

“The 3rd respondent’s selection by the 2nd respondent (Tinubu) as his running mate qua vice-presidential candidate did not occur until 15th July, 2022, a period of at least nine days after his voluntary withdrawal as the senatorial candidate of the 4th respondent.”

They argued that Obi was not qualified to contest the election on the grounds of his not being a registered member of the LP at the time of the election.

They noted that by the provision of Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2022, a political party is mandated to maintain a register of its members both in soft and hard copies and make such register available to INEC not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the party primaries, congress or convention.

“The 2nd petitioner submitted or ought to have submitted its register of members to the 1st respondent not later than 30 days before its primary election for the selection of a presidential candidate held on 30th May, 2022.

“As of 30th April, 2022, the 1st petitioner’s (Obi’s) name was not on the list of members of the 2nd petitioner (LP) that was submitted or ought to have been submitted to the 1st respondent.

“As of 30th April, 2022, the Ist petitioner’s name was on the list of members of the Peoples Democratic Party. At the said time, he had been screened and cleared to participate in the presidential primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party.

“It was only after the presidential primary election process of the Peoples Democratic Party had commenced and the 1st petitioner willingly put himself up for nomination as the said party’s presidential candidate that he subsequently willingly allowed himself to be nominated as the 2nd petitioner’s presidential candidate on or about 27” May, 2023.

“Up until the presidential election of 25th February, 2023, the 1st petitioner still remained on the register of members of the Peoples Democratic Party submitted by the party to the 1st respondent,” they added.

Tinubu and Shettima equally faulted the claim by Obi and the LP that the President-elect was not qualified to have contested the election on grounds of alleged criminal indictment.

They stated: “The 2nd respondent (Tinubu) maintains that he was not convicted in case No; 93C 4483 United State District Court, Northern District of Illinois.

“The United States of America, through its Embassy in Nigeria, had by a letter dated February 4, 2003, addressed to the then Inspector General of Police, confirmed that upon their record checks of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Investigation Centre (NCIC), the centralized information center that maintains the records of every criminal arrest and conviction within the United States of America, there were no records of any form of criminal arrests, wants or warrants against the 2nd respondent.

“The respondents shall found and rely upon copy of the said letter of February 4, 2023, signed by Michael M. Bonner.

“The respondents shall contend at trial that the purported proceedings in the United States of America and the subsequent order being relied upon by them have not, at any time (and until now), been registered in Nigeria under the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act or any other law in force for the time being within the jurisdiction of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and as such, this honourable court is without jurisdiction to either admit it in evidence, countenance it at all, or rely on it for the purpose of determining this petition.

“The 2nd respondent states that he studied in the United States of America, worked there before returning home to assume his employment with Mobil Oil Nigeria, and that before and after his election as Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1992, he enjoyed an unrestricted right of ingress and egress to the United States of America and up till now, he still enjoys an unimpeded right of access to the United States of America.

“The respondents shall, at the trial, found and rely on data pages of the 2nd respondent’s international passports.

“The 2nd and 3rd respondents shall contend that all pleadings relating to the purported forfeiture proceedings in the United States of America are inadmissible in evidence in Nigeria, and as such, that all paragraphs relating to the said pleadings ought to be struck out in limine.”